In The Meantime
by StoryDiva
Summary: Spoilers through season one...Jack and Kate end up on a new part of the island. Jack's hurt, they have to spend the night, and sparks fly.


**Title:** In The Meantime

**Author:** Tommygirl828 (at) gmail (dot) com

**Written For:** this is a pinch-hit (mildly delayed and I'm sorry for that) for the hetfic ficathon for danamulder who wanted _Jack/Kate lost together in unfamiliar terrain on the island_

**A/N:** Much love to Jen, who tolerates my "help, help beta please!" requests, and to Steph, who puts up with my comma problem and offers such sage advice as "Ew...het!" This is my first time writing Jack/Kate so I hope it's not too terrible, especially since I'm usually a Jack/Sawyer girl. Finally, feedback is applauded!

* * *

Jack lies there, trying to figure out what hurts more – the leg that's twisted beneath his body or the fresh gash on his head. One minute he's covering terrain with Kate in hopes of locating Walt, the next, he's flying through the air and landing with a thud. He can't be sure if the unknown creature of the island got a hold of him or if he suddenly found himself stuck in a random _Wizard-of-Oz_ like tornado. Knowing the crazy things he has witnessed on the island thus far, either option seems possible.

He notices the way the grass bends around him and briefly thinks that this is it. He wasn't able to save Boone, and now he won't be able to save Walt or himself. At the end of the day, all his good intentions amount to nothing. He's a failure and everyone will know it.

"Jack? Jack, are you okay?"

Jack hears the frantic note in Kate's voice. It sickens him a little that he enjoys the worry in her voice, knowing that she cares about him, and he attempts to find his voice. At first it comes out jumbled, a jarring sound that's nothing more than a guttural groan, and then he manages a small, "Over here."

He shuts his eyes against the harsh sound of the rustling of her shoes against the ground. It's probably a side-effect of the head injury, but Jack realizes that everything with Kate seems to happen in extremes. There is no middle ground with her, whether it's something that she forces or it happens naturally, and surprisingly, he enjoys that.

He feels her hand on his cheek and then on his neck. He resists the urge to point out that she doesn't need to take his pulse, and that even if he did, she's doing it wrong. He reaches for her hand and orders, "Focus on the leg. It's underneath me, and I can't move it. I think it's broken."

"What can I do?"

"I need to get a look at it. Help me get untangled."

Kate meets his gaze and his in-control exterior begins to crumble. The pain is getting worse with each passing minute and there is a nagging voice in the back of his head telling him to stop pushing her away, to admit his feelings, to let someone help him for once. The moment and the voice fade away quickly when Kate tries to roll him on his side.

Jack bites down on his lip to suppress the pain and she says, "Jesus, Jack. This looks bad." Her hands run down the length of his back and he winces when she touches the injured leg. She slowly straightens it out so he can get a look at it – she's right. It's not looking too good, but he has seen worse right here on the island. He can handle it.

_Push past the pain, Jackie._ That's what his father used to tell him. Injury during Little League? Push past the pain. Car accident with drunken father? Push past the pain. Attacked by invisible monster on island? _Push past the pain._

"I'll be okay," he says, more for Kate than himself. She has that look on her face that he notices from time to time, the type that seems to say she can't bear any more death and loss, that she's seen too much of it in her life long before the island. Jack considers it one more mystery to Kate, one more piece that doesn't fit the puzzle.

Her hand returns to his cheek and she says, "I think we're going to have to stay here tonight. Think you can manage?"

He nods and says, "If you could grab a few thicker branches, I'll try to make a crutch for tomorrow."

She brushes leaves and dirt off her jeans and stands up. She hovers over him and adds, "I'll get a few branches for a fire too. It's already getting dark."

She walks off, but he calls out to her, "Kate?" She stops. Her back stays to him, but he knows she's listening. He adds, "Be careful. Something or someone attacked me."

"I know," she mutters, so low that he knows he's not supposed to hear it, and disappears into a large thicket.

* * *

Jack thinks he should be used to nights in the jungle beneath the open sky, but it still leaves him confused at times. He wakes up unsure of where he is or how he got there, but within seconds, the reality of it all returns. _Plane crash. Trapped on island. Off course. Strange things. Only Doctor. All on his shoulders._ As he sits there, lost in the sounds of the crackling fire, and hopes that no one needs him while he's gone, he wonders if this will be how he lives out the remainder of his years. So far the people they've encountered have led him to believe that no one gets off the island.

It's a lonely thought, though no more lonely than the last six months of his life in Los Angeles had been.

He notices Kate staring at him and he asks, "Are you cold? You can have my—"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Because I don't—"

"—Jack, I'm fine."

"I hope the rest of the search groups had better luck locating Walt."

Kate shrugs and replies, "Even if they do...they still have to deal with the Others."

"We'll deal with it. The only thing that matters is getting Walt back, keeping us all together."

Kate laughs at that and fixes her gaze on him. Her smile is more genuine than her laugh and she replies, "I can never figure out if you're an optimist or a pessimist."

"I'm a realist," Jack counters. He groans as he shifts his weight and moves his leg. He stares at the fire and says, "It's in our best interest to stay together for as long as possible. Walt is a part of our group and he belongs with us."

Kate leans over and kisses him on the cheek. She rubs her thumb over the spot, as though there is a lipstick smear, and replies, "You remind me of someone I used to know."

Jack cocks his head to the side at that and asks, "Should I be worried by that?"

She shakes her head and says, "No, it's a good thing. He was a good person, always worried about everyone and trying to take care of them. I just..." her voice trails off into the wind. Jack stares at her, unsure what to say, if anything, knowing that the more he presses Kate for information, the quicker she shuts down.

After a moment she says, "I don't want to see you meet his fate, Jack. You've got to stop caring so deeply about some people...about me."

Jack continues to stare at her, aware of the closeness between them and the vulnerability in Kate's eyes. Words have never been his forte. He wants to reach out and pull her against his chest. He wants to promise her that everything will work out in the end, but he's not that guy and Kate's not that girl. So he focuses on the stars above them, leaning back until his head touches the grass, and says, "We were all different people before the crash, Kate." He points up at the stars and says, "And right about now that world is about as far away as the stars."

"It doesn't change who I am."

"No, only you can do that," Jack replies. He meets her line of vision and shrugs. "I'm not an idiot, Kate. I don't view you as some damsel in distress, and I don't doubt that your number one concern is remaining out of jail."

"Jack..."

"But that doesn't change the fact that I count on you, that you are one of the first people I turn to for help on this island," Jack replies.

Kate smiles and rests herself on the ground next to Jack. She turns on her side so that she's facing him rather than the sky, and says, "You're really not something I was looking for. I mean, I'm a fugitive and when we're rescued...I don't want you keeping me from avoiding the law."

"I'm not sure—"

She sighs and mutters, "Dammit." She doesn't say anything, closing the little bit of distance between the two of them and placing a chaste kiss on Jack's lips. As far as kisses go, it isn't the best or most enticing kiss that Jack has ever experienced, but the feelings behind it – caring, relief, fear, and anger all mixed together into one huge raw emotion – cause his hands to move up her back, his fingers to run through her hair and his other hand to caress her cheek as he pulls her on top of him to deepen the kiss.

Jack pulls away first, attempting to catch his breath and figure out if this a dream or hallucination or some demented island trick. But his hands reach out and Kate is still there, resting her head on his chest, and she's real, tangible.

"I've wanted to do that for awhile," Jack admits. He chuckles and feels Kate's lips on his stomach through the lining of his shirt. He adds, "I just didn't want to mess things up, to cause any problems on the island."

"Me either. I've grown up causing trouble wherever I go and when I saw you, I didn't want to hurt someone else who decided to have faith in me. I hate that I might let you down, Jack." Kate sits herself up and looks off in the distance. "This is another section of the island that I didn't know existed. I wonder if we're close to the other side of it. Wonder if we're even close to the where the Others are?"

Jack sighs, the reality of their situation sinking back in. This isn't a romantic getaway; it's a rescue mission for a little boy. He shakes his head and says, "Something didn't want us going in that direction..." Jack pauses and points north to the area where he was attacked. He continues, "...so once we get back to camp, we'll need to send another party out here. Prepared this time."

Kate nods. She lies back down on the grass and looks over at Jack. She asks, "And in the meantime?"

Jack smiles and replies, "I'm sure we can think of something to make the night pass quicker."

Kate inches closer to Jack until their bodies brush up against one another. She takes his hand, raises it to her lips, and says, "Definitely something."

_Fin_


End file.
